HomeAdvisor: Find a Contractor 4+

So I’ve read some of the criticisms of Home Advisor. I have to say I had an unqualified successful experience, this is why. First I called a couple of vendors who literally did not even answer the phone. I took a chance and used the Home Advisor App. I got two referrals one of which was one I tried myself earlier. So I called the first vendor who said they would see me in three days. Here is where the magic started to happen. I got a call from the next vendor on the list who could see me the same day, I got calls from two other vendors who I declined as someone was coming. The gentleman Glenn Julian From Good Value Heating and Air Conditioning was awesome in all respects. He was timely, accurate and fairly priced. I spoke with Glenn afterwards and he said he is busier in a smaller service area adding “it’s really how things are going because there is greater accessibility between vendors and customers and people feel they are at less danger receiving poor service or unfair billing.” I couldn’t agree more Glenn.

I am a 1st time user of Home Advisor & had no previous experience or hearsay from friends-just a happy accident I found them.
After reading reviews, I choose Ali Shadian as a handyman, because he had all 5 star reviews. (Many reviews). He called me the next morning & gave me recent people he had worked for, & I called them & they were all exceedingly happy with his work.
He stopped by that day & I went over a list of items needed doing. I really liked him & he seemed easy going & capable of doing the job. I decided to have him do one task first, to see how he worked out. We have solid core, paneled, interior doors, that had been chipped & scratched & needed repairing & painting. He had professional equipment & did an excellent job! He had a electric sander & professional paint sprayer . Next he redid my mailbox on the street. Here he did creative & excellent work. He showed up on time & had great work habits: cleaned up after he was done, & was eager to do a top job. I plan on having him do other jobs for me. Home advisor called me every day to see how things were going. I was surprised on how well they follow up, to be sure the client is happy with the work being done. All in all, a very excellent experience.

I’ve used them three times now, hoping that each time might be different (which I know is the definition of insanity). I hired an A/C company that had a good sales guy, but a lousy install team. The second time was for a landscaper, no one called. The last time was for stucco work and there was only one contractor who called. I almost hired him because “Hey, Home Advisor knows what they’re doing right?”. Well after consulting two other contractors who were a bit higher priced, I found out that the way in which he was suggesting to repair the home would have caused more expensive problems than doing it right the first time. There were no other stucco contractors on their list. I am only 10 minutes away from a city of 100k+ people and they couldn’t find two other contractors for the area? Then there are the constant emails asking for reviews, suggesting other project ideas, etc. Plus if you’re not careful, you’ll answer the phone and have to get pulled into a 5 minute follow-up call and apology.
Do what our parents and grandparents did for decades before the golden age of technology. Ask friends and neighbors, call out of a directory, get multiple bids, and go with your gut. Worst-case scenario, go to Yelp and get your ratings there. At least you won’t be hassled by constant follow-up.